You may remember how high I was on The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion; I even gave it my first and only Geek Pick (see my full review). I was fortunate enough to be able to get an interview with Craig Lafferty, Senior Producer on Oblivion on the PS3. The full interview appears below:

What was it like working with the PS3 compared to the Xbox 360? Do you have a favorite and which one do you think looks better?

Both systems have their own strengths and weaknesses, so it's really hard to choose a favorite. The PS3 was great because we knew that all of them would have a Hard Drive…making it easier to optimize things like load times. Since the Xbox 360 version was completed first, there were parts of the code we had to re-address and optimize to work with the PS3 architecture.

I'm quite pleased with how both versions turned out and in the end, gamers are able to play the game we set out to make no matter which system they choose to play it on. You would have to put both systems side by side and really pay close attention to notice any differences…and that's how we wanted it to be.

Did you feel any need to improve on the 360 version, because you were given some extra time?

We were fortunate enough that the game we wanted to ship was the version of the game we shipped for the 360. We were very happy with how Oblivion turned out on Xbox 360 and felt strongly that we wanted to bring the same game to the PS3. So the extra time was spent insuring the conversion was of the highest quality since we were already happy with the original game itself.

I have read that the game took you four years to make. Do you think it will be easier to make the inevitable fifth game in the series or do you think it could take even longer since you pushed the envelope in IV?

Elder Scrolls games are known for their size and the amount of gameplay they offer to gamers, and games of their size take a long time to develop no matter how you slice it.

The face modification system is great in the sense that you can create any face you want–probably a clone of yourself. However, people can play most–if not all–the time in First Person mode. What was thinking behind the face mapping?

Even if played entirely in first person mode the user still spends a lot of time looking at their character when they bring up the Journal and equip items they have found on their quests, etc. Allowing people to create a personalized in-game character helps the player feel more attached and emotionally involved in their game…it adds to the immersion. In addition, you'd be surprised how many people play in third-person.

There are hundreds of hours of gameplay, plus infinite replayability. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of characters who all talk to you and talk amongst themselves. It's like an MMO in many ways. Do you ever see your company going in the MMO direction?

Well, we've said before it's certainly possible at some point. As a producer, I tend to focus more on what I'm doing at the moment than what we might be considering doing down the road.

Do you have a favorite class/race in Oblivion? If you design your own class, what are your favorite features?

I tend to prefer playing as an Imperial warrior. I love the feel of the combat in Oblivion, and there are so many great melee weapons that I'm constantly switching my weapon, changing my combat style, and just powering my way through the world.

Do you have a class/race that you hate to play in Oblivion — or didn't want to include but felt compelled to?

Not really. I tend to prefer playing melee characters, but a big part of what makes Oblivion so appealing is the ability to try different characters and have the freedom to choose how you want to play the game. Because this freedom is important, we felt it necessary to include many class/race combinations.

Some of the possibilities in character creation seem somewhat odd. For example, why would someone want to be born under the sign of the Lord… Isn't that just asking for people to be forced to start over? Or did you want to give people the freedom to hurt or help their characters as much as they wanted… sort of like real life.

Exactly–it's all about choice. The player can chose what type of character they want to play, what quests they want to do, etc. The sign of the Lord offers a benefit for characters without a restoration skill, but only gives that benefit once a day. Each class and birth sign offers something unique and by including many options, we give the player many choices for how they play the game.

Regarding additional content, some gaming sites criticized you for charging for horse armor. Later, you pretty much made everyone eat their words, by giving ten or more hours of extra content for a quite reasonable price. After about a year of experience with Xbox Live Marketplace (and a few months with Sony's PlayStation Store), what are your thoughts on DLC?

I think it's a fantastic way for developers to extend the life of their game. It keeps it fresh in people's minds and allows gamers to try new things without having to purchase a whole new game. It also gives players choice, they can purchase as little or as much as they want, depending on their preference.

It's also a great way to offer more of what people like about a game once the game has been on the market and player feedback becomes available.

Can you tell me anything about forthcoming expansion packs for the PS3 title?

Knights of the Nine is already included in PS3 version of Oblivion, and we are working on making the Shivering Isles expansion available to PS3 owners as well but, exactly how and when it will be available is still being worked out.

Any possibility that you could work with the Wii?

I'm sure it's something we'd like to do. But much like the issue we had with Morrowind only being on Xbox and not PS2, there is a difference in what each console can do and support vs. what the game needs, and Oblivion as it was designed isn't a very good fit, technically, for the Wii.

Can you tell me anything about the forthcoming PSP version?

Nothing new to report on that at this time.

USER COMMENTS 2 comment(s)

Hmmm(2:33pm EST Thu May 31 2007)I have missed playing Morrowind after i moved to the UK… it is such a good game.